SCHOOL ACCREDITATION DOCUMENT
The Optometry Council of India has been established with the objective of providing quality and equitable eye care services in India. This would be possible when the professionals have similar levels of competence requiring a national accreditation and to establish the standards in education. This would ensure homogeneity for the future and establish stringent guidelines and norms for the quality of optometry education that is being offered by our educational institutions. There are currently about 80 institutions in India which offer four-year degree programs in optometry. About 40 institutions in India currently offer two- or three-year optometry programs. It is necessary that we have a basic paradigm so that institutions in India are able to offer comparable optometric education. This will be done through reviewing and accreditation.
The Optometry Council of India will work together with the educational institutions to review their current facilities and educational modalities, further to suggest ways to attain minimum standards in the delivery of optometry education, ultimately accredit programs that currently meet these guidelines. Optometry programs that conform to the provision of the standards are required to offer education in optometry to be accredited after a detailed review process. Accreditation of the program would bring recognition to institutions that are striving to maintain the standards and vice versa help the institutions to stay up-to-date with newer developments in the field of optometry education .The accreditation certificate would be renewed every four years.
The key activities for the improvement in quality of eye care 1. To develop and standardize education in optometry 2. Work towards national accreditation and regulation 3. Academic development of optometry in India.
Achieving this will require substantial resources and effort, and may be a long term process. Only through a united effort by all optometrists and optometry institutions in India can these ambitious goals be achieved. This would be a major contribution to the visual health and welfare of the people of India.
Accreditation of programs
Accreditation will perform a number of important functions, like:
• assuring the public that graduates are effectively prepared for entry to the profession and • providing schools with regular feedback on the contemporary needs of the profession.
Optometric education
Defining the optometric curriculum
In order to help the optometry schools in this process the Optometry council of India would like to suggest the latest Common Minimum Optometry Curriculum (CMOC) developed by the Association of School and Colleges of Optometry of India (ASCO) India and the competency standard document (IELOCS - Indian Entry Level Optometry Competency Skills) for graduating students from optometry. The documents have been shared by ASCO with schools and colleges. However, schools can have their own mechanisms for program review, implementing changes to the curriculum and methods of teaching yet it has to be ensured that the graduating students of the Optometry school should have the required competencies as mentioned in last updated IELOCS document.
Assessment Team
The Assessment Team (the Team) will undertake the review and assessment of individual optometry programs on behalf of the OCI. OCI is responsible for recommending the membership of an Assessment Team to the OCI Board for approval
The Chair of the Team is appointed by the OCI Board from among the members of the Assessment Team. The Chair is usually a senior academician
OCI’s CEO and OCI staff provides secretarial support to the Assessment Team.
The process would consist of 8 stages:
Initiation of accreditation process
Confirmation of process and assessment team to the college Preparation of submissions by the college
Review of submissions
Preparation for the site evaluation Site evaluation
Assessment team report and final recommendation by the team Final report and notification to the school
The Schools would be graded for 9 standards:
1. Organization and governance
2. Physical infrastructure, Staff & Students 3. Curriculum
4. Clinical Training & Assessment 5. Student Assessment
6. Research Activities
7. Best Practices & Innovation 8. Other Courses
9. Service at Peripheral Health Centres (Community Service)
The schools which fulfill the requirements would be accredited for 4 years. Once accredited the schools are expected to file an annual report to OCI and keep OCI informed if any major changes are planned in the program.
APPENDIX:
Topic Aspects Ratio if applicable Yes No
Needs Improvement
Nomenclature of the program
Organization &
Governance Has faculty for teaching all the subjects mentioned in curriculum?
Has funding to manage the program?
Has affiliations for clinical training?
Has affiliations for specialist teaching?
Has university recognition?
Infrastructure, staff
(A) Faculty details
for classroom strength Faculty : student ratio 1 : 30 for classroom theory 1:30 of 30 students Faculty : student ratio 1 : 10 for practical’s 01:10 Minimum 4 full - time faculty. with post - graduate qualification
Rooms dimensions
4 classrooms of 200 sq feet each (1 for each academic year)
3 labs of 10 x 20 feet
Library of 120 sp feet with 200 titles
Seminar room of 1200 sq feet to accommodate 80 students +
projection space
Principal room of 140 sq feet
Faculty work stations
Office room of 200 sq feet
Clinical training ( as per CMOC)
Tie up with eye hospitals for specialities like BV, low vision &
Contact lenses
Optical dispensing
Primary eye care posting
Optometry clinics
Infrastructure - Clinics
(B) Eye Examination & Refraction Clinic (3 work stations)
EYE Examination set up ( work stations) 1:10
Slit Lamp 1:15
Phoroptor / standard trial set 1:10
Torch 1:5
Streak Retinoscope 1:10
Lensometer 1:10
Trial Frames 1:10
Cross Cylinder 0.25 & 0.50 1:10
Standard IOP measuring instrument 1:10
Standard Vision Drum 1:10
Direct Ophthalmoscope 1:10
Model eye 1: 10
Low Vision Clinic (1 work station)
Contrast Sensitivity Chart 1:30
Other standard visual acuity assessment charts 1:30
Spectacle magnifiers of 2 different magnifications 1:30
Monocular telescopes of 3 different magnifications 1:30
Hand held illuminated of 2 different magnifications 1:30
Stand Magnifiers of 2 different magnifications 1:30
High plus addition spectacles of 4 different magnifications 1:30
Standard filters 1:30
Standard non optical devices like Digital CCTV, Typoscope, Signature
guide, pinhole spectacles 1:30
Investigative Clinic (Accessible)
Standard visual field assessment equipment Accessible
Fundus examining device like 90D lens / indirect ophthalmoscope /
direct ophthalmoscope and others 1:10
Anterior angle assessment device 1:6
Other retinal investigative devices like OCT / FFA Accessible
Syringing & probing Accessible
Binocular Vision Clinic (2 work station)
RAF Ruler 1:15
Instruments to assess binocular vision like Maddox Rod / maddox
wing / Synoptophore 1:15
Flippers Set 1:15
Peadiatric Vision Chart ( 2 different types ) 1:15
Stereoscopic vision assessing devices 1:15
Prism Bar 1:15
Diplopia Goggle 1:15
Objective vision assessment device 1:30
Contact Lens Clinic (3 work stations for 30 students)
Standard vision assessment devices 1:10
Standard equipment to assess the eye under magnification 1:10
Trial Set & Trial frame & HVID Scale 1:10
Device to assess the corneal curvature 1:30
Placido disc Accessible
Soft Lenses, Toric Lens and RGP Lens Trial Set 1:30
Speciality Lenses Accessible
Optical dispensing (3 work stations for 30 students)
Frame fitting equipment 1:10
Optician Ruler 1:10
Lens power measuring device 1:10
PD measuring device 1:10
Frames - plastic, metal of supra, rimless & full frame (each type) 1:10 Spectacle lenses - organic, glass, Polycarbonate, Trivex (each type) 1:10
Library
50 Books Titles, minimum 5 for each subject (minimum of 300
books for a batch of 30 ) ( on year wise basis )
1 Indian Journals subscription
4 International journals subscription (including online subscription)
Curriculum Is it based on CMOC?
Annual / semester system followed?
Student Assessment Clinical examination
Average number of patients examined during the year (supervised / independent)
Method of assessment of each course
Internship program quality (with defined modules)
Research Activities School support for the same
Collaboration with various organizations if any
Number of publications Number of projects
Research grants if any
PHC
Minimum of 3 programs per year/ hours (30 hours per semester) starting
2 year onwards
